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Renovations to Clinic Building in Grand Canyon National Park Begin

Grand Canyon, Ariz. – Work recently began on renovations to the clinic building on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Over 1,900 square feet of space in the north corner of the Mission 66 clinic building will be renovated during this second phase of improvements for emergency responders. This project will provide new office space for the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center and improve office space for the park’s emergency medical services (EMS) program. The building’s HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and utility systems will also be renovated during the project.

Once completed, these improvements will allow for a more consolidated and efficient emergency response in the park as most of the South Rim’s emergency response personnel will be working in one location. Currently, communications center staff work out of several small rooms in Park Headquarters about 1.5 miles away from many of the Grand Canyon emergency responders they support.

In addition to allowing staff to work more closely and efficiently, the renovations will provide improved connectivity and internet access for the EMS program, upgraded 911 equipment, improved radio communications across the park, and up to 20 percent more space for the communications center including two complete operator consoles and one workstation with a radio base-station where a third dispatcher could be dedicated to a singe incident.

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center is a major law enforcement, fire, EMS, search and rescue (SAR), and public safety telecommunications operation. The center provides support for the day-to-day and emergency operations of the entire greater Grand Canyon area, including Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks and Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki National Monuments, as well as the outlying communities of Tusayan, Demotte Park, and adjacent county areas. In addition, the center provides criminal justice support to Canyon de Chelly and Montezuma Castle National Monuments and Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site; and provides assistance to personnel from Coconino and Kaibab National Forests, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol), the Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies upon request.

“We are thrilled that this project is underway,” said Marty Huseman, the Law Enforcement Specialist responsible for the communications center. “The Communications Center Manager, Elissa Torres, ensures that the center is staffed 24-hours per day, seven days per week; and our dedicated dispatchers handle a high volume of radio and telephone calls for service. These upgrades will dramatically improve conditions for them and will allow us to provide even better support to our rangers in the field and the many other customers that we serve.”

This important project is being paid for with funds generated by the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act which allows the park to reinvest a majority of the recreational fees it collects back into projects that will enhance visitor services within Grand Canyon National Park.

For additional information on this project, please contact Michael Leary, Project Manager at 928-226-0160 or e-mail us. For more on the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center, please contact Marty Huseman, Law Enforcement Specialist at 928-638-7763.